Hay Festival Global has launched The Platform, an open call for creatives aged 21 - 28 to submit their new work to be showcased in Hay-on-Wye, May 23 - June 2. Supported by funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, The Platform is a new initiative to promote, support and develop young creative talent. Artists can find out more about the programme and submit their ideas at hayfestival.org/the-platform – the deadline for submission is Wednesday, April 17. Successful artists will have the chance to share their work with Festival audiences on Wednesday, May 29 in the festival’s central marquee space, plus meet and network with established artists over a three-day visit. All festival expenses will be paid and each artist will also earn an event fee for their work. The Platform is open to a range of art forms, including performance (theatre, dance, street), poetry, digital art, film, audio, music, and literature and focuses on bringing together a diverse and representative group of artists from across the UK. Applications will be assessed by a panel of artists that represent the work submitted and Hay Festival Global’s creative team.  Hay Festival CEO Julie Finch said: “Hay Festival Global is a charity built on creative collaborations. The Platform is designed to support young artists in building connections, on stage and off, showcasing their work to our Festival audience while facilitating creative collaborations with established artists.

“We are very grateful for funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England to allow us to broaden opportunities even further with this new open call. Please help us spread the word about this opportunity. We cannot wait to see the submissions!” The next festival edition in Hay-on-Wye takes place from May 23 - June 2. 30 earlybird events are on sale now. Meanwhile, festival events further afield are already in full swing. In January, there were editions in Jericó, Medellín and Cartagena, Colombia, and Panama City, while Hay Festival Forum Seville in Spain takes place next weekend. Closer to home, the Scribblers Tour, which delivers free events to schoolchildren at university venues across Wales has just wrapped up.